Primates' Meeting Lambeth Palace, England 15-16 October, 2003

Following the regular primates meeting of May 2003 The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams convened an extraordinary meeting of the Primates of the Anglican Communion.

Archbishop Peter Akinola and Archbishop of Canterbury

Photo Credit: ACNS

Dr Williams said that the effects of recent developments at the ECUSA General Convention were being felt throughout the Communion and there was a need for the Primates to meet to consider them.

“I am clear that the anxieties caused by recent developments have reached the point where we will need to sit down and discuss their consequences. I hope that in our deliberations we will find that there are ways forward in this situation which can preserve our respect for one another and for the bonds that unite us.”

The primates then gathered at Lambeth Palace on October 15th-16th for a series of closed meetings discussing a way forward when conflicts arise and decisions made by one province have an effect on another. The Primates issued a communique at the close of the meeting.